Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Child care workers are vanishing and it's hurting the entire economy
It seems to be a catch-22 situation, where there is no viable solution because of mutually conflicting conditions. While minimum wages for many jobs have been showing a steep increase for the last few years in the US, childcare workers don’t seem to have been enjoying the benefit as much as other laborious jobs do, such as warehouse, delivery, and restaurant workers. Also, they aren’t usually given benefits such as insurance or paid leaves like other workers. Then, as worker shortage and average wage increase, fewer childcare workers or services become available. This situation isn’t easy to be changed. If childcare expenses become too high, working parents won’t go out for work. Also, if they can’t get affordable childcare, they can’t work outside either. Then, should the federal or local governments offer financial aid for the childcare industry or working parents? The problem is getting more serious under the pandemic where childcare providers are forced to close their facilities and services. And if affordable childcare isn’t available, expecting parents may hesitate to produce more children, which is already happening in many developed countries. Indeed, childcare is an essential element of the economy and social structure.
Read the article and think about this rising dilemma for working parents.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/28/economy/child-care-labor-force-declines/index.html
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